


It's All in the Eyes

by Yrindor



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Gen, Minor Injuries, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 09:44:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8008627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yukio has a secret he doesn't want anyone to know.  Unfortunately for him, secrets are terrible at remaining silent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's All in the Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KristenSharpe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristenSharpe/gifts).



> Written for the GenEx 2016 exchange.

Yukio swore under his breath as he dropped behind a rock and reloaded his guns for the third time. He was starting to run low on ammunition, and there were still no other fully-qualified exorcists in sight.

It should have been a simple mission—his class of Exwires as support for a larger team of exorcists hunting an especially troublesome Ghoul. His team seemed to draw more than their fair share of bad luck though, and when one of the Tamers leading the group stumbled across a whole nest of Ghouls by mistake, Yukio and his class had somehow been cut off from the rest of the group.

It wasn't that he didn't think his Exwires could handle the situation; he knew they had faced far more difficult battles and come out on top before, but they had prepared assuming that they would be playing the support role for this mission. He in particular had prioritized his equipment for healing rather than for combat, and as a result, he was decidedly limited in firepower, and he knew some of his students had to be feeling similarly pressed.

As soon as he had reloaded, he rose from his cover, taking a second to take stock of the situation before he moved. Izumo had summoned both of her foxes, and Shiemi was using Nee to slow down the Ghouls for Izumo's attack. Not far from them, Konekomaru was reciting the Death Verses as quickly as he could, and Bon was singlehandedly driving back any Ghouls that came too close to the Aria.

While he would have preferred different circumstances, Yukio couldn't help but be proud of how well his students were working as a team. They had come a long way since the first day when they all had been at one another's throats.

There would be time enough for reflecting later though, he thought as he fired at a Ghoul coming up behind Shiemi, then at one of the two trying to break past Bon to reach Konekomaru.

He was so focused on his students that he didn't the demon coming up behind him. He wouldn't have seen it at all until too late if it weren't for Rin yelling "Nii-san, look out!" as he leapt in from the side, his sword already unsheathed.

Yukio instinctively turned at the sound of Rin's voice, and a set of claws flashed right across where his face had been less than a second earlier. He dropped low as Rin's sword flashed above his head, then immediately pivoted to return fire. His fifth shot finally dropped the demon, but it left his gun empty again, leaving him unable to take out the Ghoul coming up behind Rin.

He shouted a warning, but he was a second too late, and the Ghoul's claws raked across Rin's shoulder as he turned. The blue flames surrounding Rin flared higher as he swore and cut the demon down. Seconds later, the remaining demons broke off their attack, and it was clear someone in the main group had finally located and neutralized the source of the problem.

Yukio cursed his timing as he rushed to Rin's side, leaving his other students to take care of any remaining demons in their area.

"Let me see it," he ordered as Rin tried to push past him to rejoin the fight. He could feel the anger building behind his eyes and trying to escape, but he fought it back. There was never a good time for it to come out, but now would be especially bad. He was surrounded by exorcists of varying ranks and affiliations, and the last thing he wanted was for any of them to notice that there was something off about him. He still wasn't entirely sure what exactly that something was, but there were already enough eyes on them due to Rin. He didn't need more eyes watching him, or worse turning him, or his brother, into a test subject of sorts.

"I'm fine!" Rin argued, trying to take advantage of Yukio's momentary distraction to slip past him.

"Demon taint shouldn't affect you as much as it would the rest of us, but it's not worth the risk," Yukio snapped. "The others have everything under control."

"I wanna fight too," Rin whined.

"If you want to fight, then you'll let me treat this now before it incapacitates you."

"Fine," Rin grumbled, "but make it fast."

Yukio wasted no time in setting to work. Given the mission briefing he had received before they started, he had expected injuries like Rin's to occur, and he had packed accordingly. It took him mere seconds to pull the correct antidote from his bag, inject it, and begin treating the wounds themselves.

"You got lucky; the claws barely scratched you," Yukio said as he covered them. "Let me look at them again tonight just to be safe, but you should be fine."

"Can I go yet?

"I suppose," Yukio said, feeling the familiar irritation growing that he'd heal people only for them to jump back into the fighting and come out injured again.

"Yukio…Nii-san? Are you okay?" Rin's voice cut through his daydreaming again, and he was immediately alert. "I'm fine," he said quickly, and to his relief, Rin didn't press the issue as they both jumped into the end of the battle..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rin demands once the battle is over and they're safely back in their rooms.

Yukio freezes. "Tell you what?"

"Your eyes. I saw the way you looked at me at the end of the battle, and those weren't human eyes. Why didn't you say something sooner?" Rin's voice is sharp, cutting into Yukio like a blade.

"Don't tell anyone," Yukio hisses. He can feel the anger rising again, and he fights to keep the demon at bay. "They don't know, and they can't know. Hell, even I don't know what it is. All I know is that it first happened several months ago, and I'm fairly certain it's been getting stronger since."

"Let me help."

"What!?"

"If anyone knows what being part demon's like, it'd be me, right? Consider repayment for all of the cuts and scrapes you've fixed up over the years."

"I'm…—" Yukio hesitates. He's been dead set against anyone finding out his secret since Neuhaus dropped it on him, but if Rin knows anyway, maybe a little help here and there wouldn't go astray. "Thank you."

"Hey, that's what brothers are for, right?" Rin asks with a smile.

Yukio knows he hasn't always been the best brother to Rin. He knows he's _still_ working on that, but Rin seems willing to be patient. He may not know exactly what the future holds, for him or for the two of them, but at least he hopes he'll have an ally.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.


End file.
